1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of recognizing images.
2. Description of the Prior Art
An image recognition method for use in, for example, image chasing device has been known in which an image is recognized through detection of the maximum amplitude points of a video signal from an image pickup device or a point where the curve representing the amplitude of the video signal crosses a predetermined threshold value. This known method, however, is disadvantageous in that the image recognition tends to be disturbed by image noises, often resulting in an erroneous operation of the device which makes use of this recognition method.
In another known method, a pattern is recognized through determination of the barycentre of the brightness in a predetermined area, while still another known method employs a reference image which is stored in a memory so that the image is recognized through detection of a point where the correlation coefficient between the image outputted from the image pickup device and the reference image is maximized. These methods, however, necessitate too many pieces of information and long processing time, as well as a highly complicated construction of the system.